The United States has launched an unprecedented biological counterattack against a flesh-eating parasite that threatens to cross the Atlantic and devastate British livestock. Sources confirm that the US Department of Agriculture has released millions of sterile screwworm flies over Florida and deployed teams of trained dogs to sniff out infected animals. The New World screwworm, a maggot that burrows into living flesh, has already caused a state of emergency in the Florida Keys.
Britain’s National Farmers Union is watching with alarm: the worm could hitch a ride on imported animals or even wind currents. Uncovered documents reveal that the last screwworm outbreak in the Americas cost cattle ranchers over $1 billion. The USDA’s gamble is a race against time: if the flies fail, British farmers face mandatory quarantines and mass culls.
The dogs, trained to detect the worm’s distinctive odour, are the last line of defence. But once the worm gets into the soil, it is nearly impossible to eradicate. The question is not if, but when it will arrive on British shores.
